Teaching German

News

Former Mexican Governor Javier Duarte extradited on graft charges

Javier Duarte, an ex-state governor from Mexico's ruling party, has been extradited to his home country from Guatemala to face corruption and racketeering charges. He's accused of siphoning off millions of dollars.

The disgraced former governor of the Gulf coast state of Veracruz arrived at Mexico City's international airport on Monday, handcuffed and flanked by armed guards.

Javier Duarte fled to Guatemala last year and went into hiding amid mounting allegations of embezzlement, influence trafficking, abuse of authority and involvement in organized crime.

"With this kind of actions, the Mexican government stresses its commitment to take concrete steps to reduce impunity ... and strengthen the rule of law," the Mexican Attorney General's Office said in a statement. It added that Duarte had been taken to a Mexico City prison for the first hearings in his case.

The 43-year-old was arrested in April at a Guatemalan resort after more than five months on the run. He denies all charges, claiming they are politically motivated.

Duarte is accused of stealing millions from the once prosperous state of Veracruz

Millions stolen

Duarte was elected governor of Veracruz, one of Mexico's most populous states, in 2010. During his six years in office, prosecutors allege he embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds, the bulk of which he spent on luxury properties and thoroughbred horses.

The case could make things difficult for President Enrique Pena Nieto and his ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which has been criticized for failing to stamp out corruption in its ranks.

Fallen leaders

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil

Lula has been found guilty of corruption and money laundering for his involvement in the "Car Wash" scandal, an extensive corruption probe that uncovered widespread bribery among Brazil's elites. Lula, who held the presidential office between 2003 and 2010, was sentenced to 9.5 years in jail. He still has a chance to appeal the ruling.

Fallen leaders

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentina

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who served as Argentina's first lady and then as its president from 2007 to 2015, was indicted on corruption charges in 2016. She was accused of granting public construction contracts to favored companies. She denies any wrongdoing. Fernandez is now seeking a political comeback, which some observers say is a bid to seek immunity against the charges.

Fallen leaders

Park Geun-hye, Soth Korea

Following months of public outcry over a wave of corruption allegations, South Korea's first female president Park Geun-hye was removed from office. She has been charged with extortion, bribery and abuse of power. Park was impeached in December 2016.

Fallen leaders

Ehud Olmert, Israel

The 71-year-old Olmert, who was premier between 2006 and 2009, was convicted of corruption in 2014. He entered prison in February 2016 but was was released in early July 2017 after his sentence was shortened. He was the first former prime minister of Israel to go to prison. Benjamin Netanyahu was his successor.

Fallen leaders

Adrian Nastase, Romania

Adrian Nastase was convicted of corruption charges in 2012 and sentenced to a two-year imprisonment term. At the time when the sentence was pronounced, he was the only head of government sentenced to prison in the 23 years following the Romanian Revolution. He was Romania's prime minister from 2004-2006.

Fallen leaders

Charles G. Taylor, Liberia

Charles G. Taylor was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2012 for his role in atrocities committed in Sierra Leone during its civil war in the 1990s. Taylor was the first former head of state convicted by an international tribunal since the Nuremberg trials in Germany after World War II. He was Liberia's president from 1997-2003.

Author: Rey Azizi

Damaging for the ruling party?

Pena Nieto himself once described Duarte as a fresh young face for the scandal-stained PRI, "part of a new generation that has been part of the party's renewal."

Duarte is the third Mexican governor-turned fugitive from the ruling party to be arrested abroad in recent months. In April, ex-Tamaulipas Governor Tomas Yarrington was captured in Italy, while Panamanian authorities arrested former Governor Roberto Borge of Quintana Roo state in June.

Although the PRI has dominated Mexican politics for much of the past century, opinion polls suggest there's a good possibility it could be voted out in next year's presidential election.